Diameter overload control is a mechanism by which a Diameter node indicates to other Diameter nodes that the reporting Diameter node is in an overload condition. The recipient of the Diameter overload control information, provided that the recipient supports Diameter overload control, should take some action, such as rerouting traffic around the overloaded node or slowing the flow of Diameter messages to the overloaded node until the overload condition is abated.
Currently there are a number of overload control information mechanisms proposed by the Diameter maintenance and extensions (DIME) working group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). One mechanism is a piggy backing mechanism that uses existing Diameter messages to carry overload control information. This mechanism is specified in IETF Internet Draft draft-roach-dime-overload-ctrl-03, May 17, 2013 (now expired), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Another Diameter overload control information carrying mechanism uses Diameter overload control application messages that are used only for communicating Diameter overload control information. This mechanism is specified in IETF Internet Draft draft-korhonen-dime-ovl-01.txt, Feb. 25, 2013 (now expired), the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The current draft that specifies how to carry Diameter overload control information is draft-ietf-dime-ovli-02.txt, Mar. 27, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Using existing Diameter overload control information carrying mechanisms, problems exist when nodes in the network do not support Diameter overload control, support Diameter overload control information but cannot be trusted to communicate overload control information to other nodes, or when it is desirable to aggregate individual node overload information into more of a whole-realm or whole-network view. For example, if a Diameter node desires to report Diameter overload control information to a non-adjacent Diameter node and one or more intervening nodes do not support Diameter overload control, such non-adjacent reporting may not be possible. The intervening nodes that do not support Diameter overload control create islands of Diameter overload control information reporting domains. Similarly, if the intervening node supports Diameter overload control but is untrusted, it may be desirable to hide the identity of the individual nodes reporting overload control information from the untrusted node.
Accordingly, in light of these difficulties, there exists a need for methods, systems, and computer readable media for collecting and distributing Diameter overload control information to non-adjacent nodes.